This invention relates to packaging a plurality of containers and more particularly to a package that can be separated into a plurality of packages. Even more particularly the invention relates to a one-piece wrapper made into a package for holding containers which can be easily separated into individual smaller packages upon delivery to the retailer, lowering the cost of manufacturing, warehousing, transportation, storage and delivery of containers.
Several different multi-unit packaging systems have been developed for the marketing of a number of packaged products, for example, bottled and canned beverages and other liquid products. Currently, most bottle or can containers are shipped in units of six, generally referred to as the six-pack package. Four six-packs are normally placed together in a paper tray for shipment from the manufacturer to the retail outlet. At present the six beverage containers in a six-pack are typically held together by a piece of plastic having six circular apertures or by a simple wrap-around paperboard package such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,566,593 issued Jan. 28, 1986 to Muller. When a paper tray of six-packs arrives at the retail outlet, the paper tray must be discarded if the containers are to be sold as six-packs. If the retailer would prefer to have two six-packs packaged together as a twelve-pack unit, or would prefer to sell six-packs individually, the manufacturer must establish a different manufacturing line to produce six-packs, twelve-packs, and twenty four-packs, and all manufacturing, warehousing, transportation, storage and delivery between the manufacturer and the retailer must store the six-packs, twelve-packs, and twenty four-packs separately.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,378, issued Sep. 18, 1973 to Werth, attempts to alleviate this problem by providing a container that will hold four six-packs. The container is comprised of a wrapper which wraps around all four six-packs, and has a tear-strip which allows the wrapper to be separated into two twelve-packs. A primary disadvantage of this type of package is that the tear-strip completely surrounds the entire carton, and therefore, the carton must be turned a full 360 degrees in order to remove the tear-strip.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,631 issued Mar. 9, 1976 to Sutherland, et al, also addresses the problem of separating containers after they arrive at the retailer. This invention, however, primarily addresses changing the outer carton which contains the six-packs into a display case.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,415,082 issued Nov. 15, 1983 to Martin, partially addresses the problem of shipping multi-unit cartons, each of which contains a liquid. A tear-strip is provided to separate the cartons and the outer wrapper is then used as a handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,758,777 issued Aug. 14, 1956 to Dixon, partially address the problem of shipping multi-unit cartons. Dixon, however, uses nearly double the quantity of material to form the packages as conventional packaging and this excess material, as well as being costly, significantly complicates the forming machinery necessary to assemble the packages at high speeds. The Dixon package requires a band to hold the packages together, since without the band, the bottom of the packages would separate. Thus the band serves the same function as the tray used with most conventional packages, and has the same cost and disposal problems. Also, once the band is removed, the package can only be separated into four six-packs and cannot be separated into twelve packs. Furthermore, the perforations separating the cartons would be difficult to break unless they are cut, thus increasing the complexity of the separation operation. Perforations are not very effective in packaging made of the heavy material necessary to hold twenty-four containers.
European Patent Application 0,029,365 Filed Nov. 14, 1980 addresses the problem of holding the containers in a package by forming apertures in the top of the package, but does not address the problem of multi-unit shipping.
None of the above described inventions address the primary problems associated with the current packaging methods. First, is the problem of requiring separate manufacturing lines and separate packaging, warehousing, transportation, storage and delivery in order to produce six-pack, twelve-pack and twenty four-pack packages. A second problem is the tray used to contain four six-packs: these trays are costly to produce, require added handling, produce unnecessary waste, and become a disposal problem. A third problem is having to dispose of the plastic six-pack carriers. Furthermore, none of the packaging methods described in the above patents address the easy separation of a package into four six-packs or two twelve-packs. There is need in the art then for a versatile package which is manufactured as a one-piece wrapper that holds a plurality of containers together as a single unit, and later can be separated by the retailer into two twelve-packs, or further separated by the retailer into four six-packs. There is also a need in the art for such a packaging method that would eliminate the cost, waste and disposal problems associated with the tray and plastic six-pack carriers presently used. There is further need in the art for a package wherein the wrapper that surrounds the twenty four-pack is the same wrapper surrounding the twelve-packs and six-packs, eliminating the need for any additional wrappers. Yet another need is for such a wrapper that eliminates or minimizes the use of perforations, because of the difficulty of separating heavy cardboard packages at the perforations.